Ezekiel 4:9

Take thou also vnto thee wheat, and barley, and beanes, and lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessell, and make thee bread thereof according to the number of the dayes that thou shalt lie vpon thy side; three hundreth and ninetie dayes shalt thou eate thereof. Ezekiel 4:9 (KJV)

Ezekiel was a prophet who lived during the Babylonian exile. God called him to deliver messages of judgment and restoration to the Israelites who were taken captive by Babylon. In this particular passage, God gave Ezekiel a symbolic action to perform as a sign to the people.

God instructed Ezekiel to gather various grains like wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and fitches (or spelt) and make bread out of them. He was to eat this bread for three hundred and ninety days, representing the length of time symbolizing the punishment of the house of Israel and Judah for their sins.

While the mixture of grains was unusual, the Mosaic law does not specifically forbid combining wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, or spelt. The claim that this violated dietary restrictions is incorrect; the prohibition against mixing seeds applies to agriculture, not diet. The mixing may symbolize the scarcity and desperation the people would face during the siege of Jerusalem.

The three hundred and ninety days that Ezekiel was to eat this bread corresponded to the years of Israel’s and Judah’s sin and rebellion against God. According to some interpretations, the 390 days were equal to 390 years, a year for each day, during which the northern kingdom of Israel (the ten tribes) and the southern kingdom of Judah would suffer judgment and captivity.

This sign of eating unclean bread for an extended period represented the severe judgment and punishment that awaited the Israelites. It demonstrated the consequences of their disobedience and their separation from God’s blessings and provision.